Adopted

Steve had to work this afternoon after church, so I took the chance to call home and rest a bit.
Not long after he arrived home, and we sat down on the couch together, did we hear a small noise at our door:

"Meow"

Now, I'm certain at first I thought it was just the computer noise, etc., or something in the house, but as we muted everything, it came again, loud and clear.

"Meow"

I opened our inner door, and there sat a black and white mottled cat, meowing ever quietly, and pawing at the screen door. He had only half of a tail, but would wave it happily despite.

A sucker for cats and other helpless creatures, I of course got it some meat from our fridge and sat down next to it. The cat proved incredibly affectionate...and cold. It kept attempting to curl up against my legs, arms, etc., and purr as loudly as it could. Steve was also quickly enamored by our adoptee, and we named him Smudge after the black smudge across his nose. Steve wanted to name him Spot, after his Star Trek leanings, but I declared he didn't seem much like a Spot, as he was far too mischeivious and seemed to want to get into everything.

If we were in an apartment that allowed animals, we would have adopted him quickly, I'm sure. All parties involved seemed to quickly develop a repertoire of affection for each other, and Smudge was soon walking beside either of us as we paced the grass near the apartment attempting to develop some plan of what to do with our little master. We decided to give him a box to keep him out of the wind, and see if he was still there later (hoping he'd go back "home" so we did not have to make such decisions). As we began packing the car for college group, Steve declared our little friend to me gone, and rejoiced that he would be going elsewhere for the night, until Smudge announced his presence again by leaping into the trunk of our car. He was quite smug about this attempt at smuggling himself to wherever we were going, but it was not to be allowed. We wrapped Smudge up in one of the old towels from the trunk, and placed him in "his" box by our door. He was reluctant, but we finally managed to keep him in the box as we left for church.

When we returned, Smudge was standing proudly on top of Steve's car, and quickly leapt down to greet us, resulting in Steve having to round him up so as not to have my car hit him. After convincing him to stay outside of the apartment, we settled down for the evening.

Since then, we haven't seen him waiting outside of our door, but we half hope he finds another home. Otherwise, I will making a trip to drop him off at our local shelter.

If only we had met at another time and place, Smudge.

Going Black

As you can see, the blog has gone black.
No, it's not in honor of Halloween (a "holiday" I tend not to celebrate). Primarily, it is because I find black backgrounds much easier on the eyes when reading a lot, as well as saving your computer from having to send light all around the screen as much. Think of it as being more efficient.

Living Within Your Means

It's a phrase we often hear when discussing finances or almost any other resources: "Living within your means." But what do we think it really means? Living within our means as long as we can stand it? Living within our means except when a cool thing is on sale?

For my husband and I, it meant re-evaluating our needs and wants. No, we didn't go out and sell a bunch of stuff (though I hope to sell off some small stuff over time, like gently-worn shoes and such that I never wear). It meant not getting stuff we weren't going to use in the first place. Trust me, it can be tough.

Our first decision before we got married and moved was where we would live in our new town. Moving away, we didn't have the option anymore of living in a parent's basement until our debts were paid off. So we knew we'd be renting, since we didn't have time to go looking at houses and had no money for a down-payment. After looking at a few and different price ranges, we picked one we knew could work for us. Not tiny, but not large, either. We had looked at a larger one, but the cost would have strained us greatly. In our current home, we can easily make our payments, as well as live comfortably. Admittedly, we would like more space, but we have learned that we don't need more space, and we can live like this until we save up for a down payment on a cheap home (by cheap I mean well-priced for its size, not falling apart), that hopefully has a garage (our hardest sacrifice of living in an apartment: cold and hot cars that require even more maintenance).

Now that we have two incomes, we're re-evaluating again what is important to us, and both of us have said two things: Paying off our debts, and getting a home. Note, nothing we discussed was "get a bigger TV" or "get new furniture." I will say those would be nice, but they are also things I can live without. We have a TV that works fine. We have furniture that is not falling apart (yet). We have food, shelter, communication, insurance, and enough "stuff" that we are content. And everyday I am learning that I can live without even more stuff we have. I have learned that clothing shopping at Goodwill is just as fun if not sometimes more so than going to new-clothing stores ($6 dresses and $3 shirts!; and I've learned I hate Target's current styles).

Now and then I will try to update this blog with a few of the tips and tricks I've learned to save us money. After learning how little it costs to keep us happy, we don't fear the recession.

Is it possible to live debt-free?

DH and I are discussing the possibility. Admittedly, we've been working off some of our debts systematically for awhile now, but we're slowly becoming more determined to attempt not to create any more debts (what's the point in paying it off if you're just going to do it all again, right?).

Much of our decision has been spurred by reading Dave Ramsey's "The Total Money Makeover." The book was offered for free on the giveaway table at our church, and the man placing it there said simply "It helped my wife and I a lot, and if it helps others, then great, if not, oh well, but he backs up his money beliefs with the Bible, so we figured we'd spread it around some." At first, I was pretty skeptical. Debt-free? Ha! We own two cars, have school debts, not a lot of income, and are hoping to buy a house in the next couple of years. That doesn't bode well for living debt-free, does it? But, I kept reading, figuring at some point he'd get down to the nitty-gritty. And he did. I began discussing the options with DH, and he said "Aren't we trying to get out of debt anyway? This could really help." And so, we embark.

Our first step, however, is to get an emergency fund. We hope to raise $1,000 in the next two months. I'm not sure how well it will work, but at least we're trying. One must start somewhere, right? And so it is my goal to tell others that this is what we're working towards, so that I don't fall into old habits again. My very first step, however, is to lock up my credit card. It is far too tempting to use when money is tight, and thus, it must go. I still don't think cards are a horrible thing if you're already smart about your money, but when times get tough, it's far too easy to rack up some debts (which we've done). So the card is paid off, and is going to a dark place where I can't easily get to it. I haven't sworn off plastic yet, though. The debit card is still living happily in my wallet, but it will only be used for budgeted items (as all the money should be from here on out). We'll keep you updated!

Assumptions

Being new in a town can certainly teach you a lot about how much people assume others know.

I discovered this one day. Before I became employed, I was concerned about our financial state, and decided if I did not become employed soon, I would fix up my bike, get a rack, and begin doing our grocery shopping by bike (thus not spending money on gas, and perhaps one day selling off one of the cars). Since I got employed, it has become a mute point (I have to cross town to get to work, and being in the car, I still use very little gas, and all of the stores are on my way home, so I get my necessary shopping done with no problems). However, as I was pondering the bike option, I decided to stop into a couple of the bike shops downtown and see what my options for racks and panniers were. One shop was very friendly, and the owner even showed me her own setup, which was very nice, and affordable. The other shop...not so much, but it wasn't bad. As I was waiting to cross the street to get back to my car, a college kid passed me on his bike, quickly asking as he approached "Do you know where the nearest bus stop is?" I replied kindly, "No, I'm sorry," to which I was quickly answered with "Quit lying, lady!"

Now, needless, to say, I was taken aback! I understand that sometimes one says "I don't know" to simply move along and not give a long answer, but to be called a liar, that's just rude! Especially when I should have gotten a chance to explain that I was new in town and honestly don't know where the bus stops are (any of them), and would like to know, myself. How often it is we merely make judgements, not knowing if they are true or not, and seemingly not caring.

Miniature Adventures may lead to Big Treasures

When Steve and I were dating while attending TSU, we would sometimes escape the doldrums of studies in a small-town on a Saturday by getting in a car with a full tank, and declaring which direction to head, and how long we'd be gone (usually from lunch until dinner, since those were times of socialization).

One day, we decided to head North, but not to Iowa, so we then headed West on small country roads. I marveled at how the rolling hills and deep-cut small creeks with grass on their banks reminded me of the hills of England, and with an early-spring chill it almost could have been. We didn't want to go too far, though, so we began heading back South.

Little did we know, however, that on highway 5, was a little town that welcomed us with a large sign that said "Welcome to the First Main Street U.S.A." The first? That was quite a claim, and one that warranted investigation.

Moments after passing the sign, was another one, with Mickey Mouse ears. Soon, we were in Marceline, MO, the town where Walt Disney grew up. There was an air of familiarity to the town, and I soon learned why. We parked along Main Street (every sign having those Mickey ears), and got out to stretch our legs. Nearly every store front had some sign about Disney, either his childhood here, or what he went on to build elsewhere. And there it was, a sign that told us that the Main Street of Disneyworld was modeled on this very city.

Although very clean and well-kept, the city seemed rather empty this day, save but a very large golden Labrador that seemed to want to adopt us, and began leading us down the street to the Florist shop. I pet the dog as Steve went in and asked questions, learning that as most small towns, Marceline doesn't have many stores open on Saturdays, and even they were calling it a day. The dog belonged to one of the owners, and was well-behaved, they said, so they didn't mind letting him roam and let the children of the town pet him, as he always knew when to head back (or lead strangers to the shop). An old train depot in town held a Disney museum, but it was closed, so we explored the small city park in the middle of town, that had a couple of old caboose cars on display. After awhile, we knew it was time to leave, and we bid farewell to Marceline and its kind townsfolk, and headed back to the everyday.

Since that day, we've had many other chance adventures, and it's become almost a tradition of ours to now and then throw plans to the wind, pick a direction, and discover where the roads will take us, and perhaps discover another "Marceline."